The objective of this research is to determine the relationship between drug prescribing quality and improvement in patient outcomes as reflected in length of hospital stay. Almost all hospitalized patients receive drugs, and a wide range in the quality of drug prescribing has been documented in the literature. If appropriate prescribing were associated with shorter length of stays, increased attention to improving prescribing would be warranted both to improve quality of care and to contain costs. This study would utilize retrospective chart review of otherwise healthy young adults hospitalized with one of two acute infectious diseases. Explicit criteria would be developed and applied to define: cases qualifying for the study, the disease entity, and the appropriateness of a variety of aspects of drug prescribing, including choice of drug, route and dosage, length of therapy, and monitoring of drug effects. Cases would be categorized as having received appropriate or inappropriate drug therapy. Analyses would be carried out to examine differences between groups in length of stay and other variables, such as severity of illness and source of payment.